Ah le Combawa. How it happens that we only just found each other, I just don’t know, but this exotic ingredient known in English as “Kaffir Lime”- is becoming the star of the show in French patisserie from gourmet desserts to chocolates and macarons.

This is one of the things I just love about modern French gastronomy- the flavour pairings are exotic and surprising. Take an Asian lemon-grassy lime citrus, the fruit of which is often disregarded for being overpowering and acidic, then masterfully match the aromatic qualities of it’s zest with the delicate flair of French patisserie and what do you get? A delicious… love child. A really good-looking… Eurasian one.

I first really discovered the combawa when I recently had the fortune of meeting and interviewing Mr Hughes Pouget – a visionary and talented award winning pâtissier and co-founder of Hugo et Victor, Paris Haute Patisserie concept stores take gourmet patisserie and l’art du chocolat to a whole new level.

When walking into the gorgeous Hugo et Victor store on Paris Rive Gauche, I could only explain the sensory experience as something in-between the excitement of diamond shopping in a high street jeweller, and the gastronomic indulgence of the dessert degustation in a Michelin star restaurant. Need I say no more. The creations by Hugo et Victor strike a perfectly balanced chord between art, fashion and food. In describing the concept, Hughes Pouget himself explains:

“There is something beautiful and fabulous in this ‘universe’… I wanted to create something in-between a pastry shop and a restaurant so that customers have the freedom of choice… so we follow the seasons and the markets- for example we replace the tangerine with the blood orange and during winter we have the Combawa… essentially we created a ‘menu’.“

Hugo et Victors ‘Seasons’ concept is a real hit and it makes so much sense. They alternate their best-seller classics with seasonally introduced flavours across a palette of delicacies from chocolate through to patisserie and even give wine matching recommendations to complete your experience. And as for the Combawa, Hugo et victor now have their own private plantation on the French Riviera to ensure a stable, non-imported, and top quality supply of this exotic fruit normally only gown in the southeast again region.

Image Supplied. The Combawa Verinne and Combawa Tarte by Hugo et Victor, Paris.
Put it on your 'Must eat when in Paris' list

For those visiting Paris, The Hugo et Victor Combawa tarte and Combawa Verrine (pictured above) should go immediately on the ‘must eat’ list. When I asked Hughes Pouget where he gets his flavour pairing inspiration from, he explained that in his time travelling all corners of the world, he picked up many ideas applicable to patisserie which often resurface years down the track .

“For two years I travelled all over the word… between Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, brazil so the inspiration is my travels- as in life, in my work, it’s important to be very curious”.

And so, inspired by this delicious discovery I set out to recreate something delicious that we can all create ourselves, starring this exotic ingredient.

Now, of course I love desserts, but creating something sophisticated and refined that would do justice to this ingredient seemed best left to the experts. So I decided to enlist the help of a much more talented cook than myself. Who better to collaborate with than the illustrious Pierre Cuisine!

A well known and very popular French food blogger famous for his ambitious creativity and original culinary creations, (not to mention his well-maintained incognito status), Pierre’s recipes are an interesting contrast to his day job in finance where I imagine his unsuspecting colleagues have no idea what he is capable of in the kitchen after hours!

Like many food bloggers, Pierre has no official culinary training, but his imagination, passion for food and many years of experimentation in the kitchen result in some absolutely superb and inspired dishes…Artichoke pannacotta with almonds, pistachio and pinenuts; Calamari surf and turf with Basque Jambon and spicy broth; Cashew cheesecake with coriander-candied lemon cream and pink radish; Chestnut cream and foie gras amuse bouche… the list of deliciousness goes on!

You can see all of Pierre’s creations here but in the meantime- here is a little video to warm you up to the recipe for our very own combawa creation:

Combawa Custard Mousse on a base of Crêpe Dentelle with Raspberry Balsamic Coulis.

The recipe which can be found in English and French further down the page.

Whisk egg yolks with sugar to a creamy white consistency; add the mascarpone and whisk again until the mixture is silky and smooth. Finely grate the zest of the kaffir lime using a micro-zester and mix again to combine.
Beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks (with a tiny pinch of salt) .
Carefully fold the egg whites into the combawa and egg yolk mixture.

Prepare and fill a pastry bag with the combawa custard and leave to rest in the fridge for approx 30 mins, allowing the gelatin to thicken the cream.

To form the combawa mousse ‘logs’, Pierre creates plastic tubes using clear plastic projection sheets rolled into narrow cylinders and sealed with cello-tape.

After 30 minutes remove the piping bag from the refrigerator and gently pipe the combawa cream into the individual tubes. Seal the tube ends with cling film and return the tubes to the fridge to finish setting. If you are pressed for time, you can place the tubes in the freezer to set quickly.

Crêpe Dentelle Base

• 1 packet of Crêpes Dentelles

Place the crepe dentelles (or a substitute sweet caramel-like wafer biscuit) in a sealable zip-lock bag and roll over the bag with a rolling pinner until they are crushed into crumbs.

Place the raspberries, vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and cook on low heat for approximately 5 minutes. Remove from heat and strain the coulis through a fine sieve of tea strainer to remove seeds. Set aside and allow the coulis to cool. Once cooled, pour into a plastic-nozzled sauce dispenser and place in fridge for 10 minutes before serving.

On the plate carefully arrange a rectangular strip of the crushed crepe dentelle to form the base .
Gently release the seals on the plastic cylindrical molds and slowly ‘roll out’ the combawa mousse log, placing it on top of the crushed crepe base .
Add the fresh raspberries and draw a line of raspberry coulis lengthways.

Serve at a cool temperature.
Enjoy!

Combawas/Kaffir Lime

Step by step- how to make the combawa custard mousse and raspberry balsamic coulis